Foot flush assemblies for use with a water closet



A. P. BOOTH 3,095,582

FOOT FLUSH ASSEMBLIES FOR USE WITH A WATER CLOSET July 2, 1963 Filed Feb. 2'7, 196].

United States Patent 3,095,582 FOOT FLUSH ASSEMBLIES FOR USE WITH A WATER CLOSET Arthur P. Booth, The Elms, Bushby, Thurnby, 1

Leicestershire, England Filed Feb. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 91,850 Claims priority, application Great Britain Mar. 3, 1960 3 Claims. (Cl. 4-249) The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for operating any normal or other domestic type water closet flushing mechanism by means of a foot operated motion thereby eliminating any hand contact with any part of the flushing operating mechamsm.

With this aim in view, in the present invention I present a foot flush assembly for use with a water closet, coin prising a foot pedal including a carrier plate to be aflixed on or in a floor or other surface below the flush bowl of the closet and a pedal arm hinged at one end to said plate, and a linear draw means coupled, or adapted to be coupled, between said arm and the flush lever or equivalent llush-initiating member of the water closet, this draw means incorporating a pressure-limiting device.

With the assembly erected and in use, the pedal arm is mounted at a convenient position adjacent the bowl of the water closet and, by simple depression, is arranged to bring the flushing mechanism into operation. On release of the pedal it is returned to its ready-for-use position by virtue of the normal restoration of the flush lever.

This pressure-limiting device can take various forms and its primary function is to serve as a shock-damping means which will prevent a too-brutal operation of the foot pedal dislocating or otherwise disturbing the cistern mechanism.

In an advantageous arrangement the pressure-limiting device is implemented by a tension spring device which is chosen sufficiently powerful to resist significant extension until the flush operating mechanism reaches its stop, after which the spring will extend to absorb any further motion which may be produced by operation of the foot pedal.

The arrangement described has other attributes which will be referred to more specifically below.

The carrier plate referred to is adapted to be afiixed to or in the floor or other surface in any suitable fashion, for example by virtue of the provision on the underside of this plate of a lining of an adhesive material or of a material which can receive an appropriate bonding substance. To assist the quick afiixing of the plate, use willpreferably be made of a quick drying cement.

In another arrangement an auxiliary holder plate is used and is mounted on the floor or other convenient surface, for example supported on an adjacent wall, this auxiliary plate having upstanding guide means, e.g. lateral undercut ribs, to removably receive the carrier plate therein. It may, for instance, be convenient, because of cramped space or installation conditions, for the auxiliary plate to be mounted above the ground and supported from the skirting of a side wall, eg through an angle piece or bracket. In any event, the use of the auxiliary mounting plate will allow for removal of the pedal arm at all times for attention or cleaning.

In yet another version the carrier plate can be embedded in the floor.

In accordance with a further feature of this invention the pedal arm has an extension piece which is slidably mounted on the remainder of the arm so as to be adjustable in longitudinal direction of the latter. This arrangement enables the assembly to be adapted to different water closet designs, in that it allows the pedal to be placed nearer to, or moved away from, the effective end of the Patented July 2, 1963 flush lever arm, e.g. to be set most conveniently in relation to the flush bowl whilst leaving the draw means directly vertical-which is desirable as affording the most effective flushing action allied with the lightest touch on the pedal.

The linear draw means which may, for example, be in the form of a wire, a coupling, a rod, a chain, or other like means, can be coupled to the flush lever arm or equivalent through a pressure compensating device in the form of a tension spring, being fastened to the latter by means of a coupling allowing adjustment of the effective length of the draw means. This coupling may be in the form of a stud which is embraced by the lower end portion of the compression spring and has therein an opening for the passage of the draw wire, or equivalent, or a series of holes through which this wire or equivalent can be threaded, and which has a set screw to clamp the wire or equivalent, after being pulled through the requisite distance, to this stud and thus the starting inclination of the pedal to be adjusted.

It will be appreciated, however, that the actual coupling between the draw means of the flush lever or equivalent will depend on the design and form of the water closet itself. Thus, in the case of a low flush set, the tension spring may conveniently be arranged in a housing upstanding from the lever.

Advantageously, the pedal arm is furnished with an arched section which forms a convenient foot step for a user.

In accordance with a further-feature of the invention this pedal arm may be provided with a foot contact pad, for example of hard rubber, on its upper face and this pad can be adjustable longitudinally of the arm. The purpose of the latter feature is to enable the leverage on the pedal to'be varied, or to adapt it to the smaller feet of children.

One example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a'water closet shown equipped with a foot flush assembly in accordance with the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a perspective illustration of the foot pedal of this assembly, with an optional auxiliary holder plate, and

FIGURE 3 is a cross section on a larger scale of part of the assembly seen in FIGURE 1.

In FIGURE 1 the water closet, assumed to be of the elevated type, is designated 1 and the bowl 2. The foot pedal of this invention is generally indicated at 3 and this is coupled through a draw wire 4- with the lever arm 5 of the flush mechanism of the water closet. It will be noted that the pedal shown in the drawings comprises a carrier plate 6 which is assumed in FIGURE 1 to be mounted directly on the floor on which the bowl 2 is standing. For this purpose it will be provided with a felt lining on its underside which can be impregnated with quick-setting adhesive to enable it to be bonded firmly to the floor or it may be secured by screws.

However, FIGURE 2. shows an example of an auxiliary holder plate 7 which may, instead, receive the plate 6. This auxiliary plate 7, which again may be affixed to the floor 9 or other support in suitable fashion, for instance by adhesive, is of channel form, having side walls 8 with inturned flanges and representing undercut guide ribs. This plate can readily be formed from metal sheet and is also equipped with a turned-up end 10* which constitutes a stop limiting forward travel of plate 6 in the holder. The carrier plate 6 can quickly be slid between the guides 8 when it is to be mounted in position, leaving it readily removable.

Hinged at 11 to the plate 6 is the pedal arm 12 which is of the external shape clearly seen in FIGURE 3. Thus,

at its rear end 13 it is of hollow arched shell form merging into a narrowed forward straight-sided projection 14. As explained above, the arched portion 13 presents a convenient foot support and it may, as in the case indicated, be provided with a hard rubber pad 15.

The projection 14 of the arm has its side edges turned under to form parallel guides 16 for an extension piece in the form of a bar 17. This bar can be shifted relatively to the projection 14 to allow for the vertical setting of the draw wire 4 in the utility position, and the chosen setting of the bar can be determined and affixed by a set screw 18 passing through the bar and bearing against the underface of projection 14.

At its outer end the extension piece is provided with a countersunk hole through which is threaded the wire 4. The coupling is afforded by a stud 19 on the lower end of this wire mating with the countersink in the bar 17.

As will be seen from FIGURE 3, a tension spring, of a strength chosen in accordance with the requirements referred to above, is hooked into a hole at the end of the lever and at its lower end has twin convolutions encircling stud 20. The wire 4 is threaded through a hole in the stud between these convolutions and, when the required inclination of the foot pedal 3 has been set, the wire is clamped in this status in stud 20 by means of a set screw 21.

As will be apparent from study of the foregoing, the assembly concerned can be very quickly erected and adjustably set in the most convenient position for use. The constituent parts can be grouped in a very compact assembly, in a relatively small box, and supplied as a kit for erection and use with any existing water closet.

Moreover, it is reliable in operation since there is only one moving part. The design is open and is such as to allow access by air at all times and, if the holder arrangement referred to is used, it may be quickly dis-assembled at any time for cleaning.

As is clear from the foregoing, modifications in various respects are possible within this invention. For example, instead of the carrier plate being secured horizontally on top of the floor, it could be embedded at an angle, even as much as 90, in the latter. In the latter case it 4 could be foreshortened and bolted to a block in the floor or ground.

I claim:

1. A foot flush assembly for use with a water closet having a flush lever, comprising a foot pedal device including a carrier plate, means to fasten said plate to a supporting surface, a pedal arm hinged at one end thereof to said plate, an extension piece 'slidably mounted on said arm at the other end thereof, and a foot step portion formed on said arm intermediate the two ends thereof, draw means adapted to be coupled between said extension piece and said flush lever, said draw means incorporating return spring means attached at one end thereof to said draw means and at the other end to said flush lever, and connecting means loosely attached to said return spring means and having means for adjustably clamping the draw means so as to vary the effective length of the latter.

2. A foot flush assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said draw means is linear.

3. A foot flush assembly for use with a water closet having a flush lever, comprising a foot pedal device including a carrier plate, an auxiliary holder with lateral, undercut ribs forming an upwardly open retaining means for removably mounting said carrier plate, a pedal arm hinged at one end thereof to said carrier plate, linear draw means adapted to be coupled between the other end of said arm and said flush lever, a foot step portion formed on said arm intermediate the two ends thereof, and means incorporated in said draw means forming an extensible member thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,196,580 Pelot Aug. 29, 1916 1,585,557 Miller May 18, 1926 1,864,827 Jenkins et al June 28, 1932 2,530,482 Rothe et al. Nov. 21, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 886,691 France July 12, 1943 

1. A FOOT FLUSH ASSEMBLY FOR USE WITH A WATER CLOSET HAVING A FLUSH LEVER, COMPRISING A FOOT PEDAL DEVICE INCLUDING A CARRIER PLATE, MEANS TO FASTEN SAID PLATE TO A SUPPORTING SURFACE, A PEDAL ARM HINGED AT ONE END THEREOF TO SAID PLATE, AN EXTENSION PIECE SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID ARM AT THE OTHER END THEREOF, AND A FOOT STEP PORTION FORMED ON SAID ARM INTERMEDIATE THE TWO ENDS THEREOF, DRAW MEANS ADAPTED TO BE COUPLED BETWEEN SAID EXTENSION PIECE AND SAID FLUSH LEVER, SAID DRAW MEANS INCORPORATING RETURN SPRING MEANS ATTACHED AT ONE END THEREOF TO SAID DRAW MEANS AND AT THE OTHER END TO SAID FLUSH LEVER, AND CONNECTING MEANS LOOSELY ATTACHED TO SAID RETURN SPRING MEANS AND HAVING MEANS OR ADJUSTABLY CLAMPING THE DRAW MEANS SO AS TO VARY THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH OF THE LATTER. 